Extreme Effort Is Only Temporary (Athlete Journal 120)

When your efforts are extreme, they will also be temporary. Intensity is meaningless if not consistent. It's not what you do today, it's what you do day in and day out.

Training is a process, not an event or an experience. Like a farm, today’s yield is the result of yesterday’s work. It’s much more about everyday habits than occasional stunts.

Look at the Big Picture

To better appreciate this, think about your nutrition. Let’s say last week, on Monday, you ate “perfectly” (whatever that means for you). But Tuesday through Sunday, you ate terribly. In the big scheme of things, does it matter how well you ate on Monday? Obviously not. In fact, it’s what you do on average that really matters.

"For the past few weeks I’ve been using the safety squat bar, which feels absolutely fantastic and productive, particularly in terms of quad activation, which is a challenge for me."

This is why, in my training journal, I record and document not only my daily volume, but weekly volume as well. Through the process of doing this, I know what my average weekly volume is, and therefore, on any given week, I know if I’m on track or falling behind.

As the new year approaches, I’d like to encourage you to do some thinking about your average daily habits, and look for opportunities to improve them. Only slight improvement, mind you. Because remember: if you can’t do it everyday, it’s not going to have any real value for you.

This Week’s Training

Weekly Training Volume: 58,470lb (Last Week: 38,295lb)

Significant Lifts:

Military Press: 135x1

Clean & Jerk: 135x1

Deficit Pull: 455x1

Safety Squat: 245x2

Dumbbell Bench: 200x6

A few things might jump out at you here, the first being that I did my first real clean and jerks in about five years. Yes, I’ve been cleaning lately and have done some push presses, but on Thursday of this week I did some actual clean and jerks. I only worked up to 135lb, but that was fairly easy and pain free, so I’ll take it as a win. As of this writing, I’ve been playing around with Eric Auciello’s ideas on the jerk with great interest - more on this next week.

Also, for the past few weeks I’ve been using the safety squat bar, which feels absolutely fantastic and productive, particularly in terms of quad activation, which is a challenge for me. For any given number of reps, there is about 100lb of difference between my competitive low bar squat and the safety bar. That alone tells you that it’s targeting a weakness.

That’s all for this week. I hope you had a Merry Christmas, and if you have any questions or thoughts on this week’s article, please leave your comments below!

Monday, December 15, 2014, 11:51 AM

Bodyweight: 201.2 lb

Volume: 12,315 lb

Average Weight Per Rep: 168.69 lb

Squat

Set 1: 45 lbs × 5

Set 2: 95 lbs × 5

Set 3: 135 lbs × 5

Set 4: 185 lbs × 3

Set 5: 225 lbs × 2

Set 6: 275 lbs × 2

Set 7: 315 lbs × 1

Set 8: 315 lbs × 1

Set 9: 315 lbs × 3

Notes: IQ: 166.85

Trap Bar Deadlift

Set 1: 225 lbs × 10

Set 2: 385 lbs × 1

Set 3: 315 lbs × 5

Notes: IQ: 263.12

45-Degree Back Extension

Set 1: 120 lbs × 10

Set 2: 120 lbs × 10

Set 3: 120 lbs × 10

Notes: IQ: 120

Tuesday, December 16, 2014, 1:20 PM

Bodyweight: 200 lb

Volume: 14,545 lb

Average Weight Per Rep: 121.20 lb

Bench Press

Set 1: 45 lbs × 5

Set 2: 95 lbs × 5

Set 3: 135 lbs × 5

Set 4: 185 lbs × 3

Set 5: 205 lbs × 2

Set 6: 225 lbs × 2

Set 7: 225 lbs × 2

Set 8: 225 lbs × 2

Set 9: 230 lbs × 2

Set 10: 235 lbs × 2

Notes: IQ: 154

Chin Up

Set 1: 6 reps

Set 2: 7 reps

Set 3: 7 reps

Set 4: 7 reps

Notes: IQ: 200

Military Press

Set 1: 45 lbs × 10

Set 2: 65 lbs × 8

Set 3: 85 lbs × 6

Set 4: 105 lbs × 4

Set 5: 125 lbs × 2

Set 6: 135 lbs × 1

Notes: IQ: 73.70

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)

Set 1: 70 lbs × 8

Set 2: 70 lbs × 8

Set 3: 70 lbs × 8

Set 4: 70 lbs × 8

Notes: IQ: 70

Thursday, December 18, 2014, 1:17 PM

Bodyweight: 201.6 lb

Volume: 14,350 lb

Average Weight Per Rep: 149.47 lb

Clean and Jerk

Set 1: 44 lbs × 5

Set 2: 44 lbs × 5

Set 3: 65 lbs × 3

Set 4: 95 lbs × 1

Set 5: 115 lbs × 1

Set 6: 135 lbs × 1 (Video Below)

Notes: IQ: 61.25

1.5" Deficit Deadlift

Set 1: 135 lbs × 5

Set 2: 135 lbs × 5

Set 3: 225 lbs × 3

Set 4: 315 lbs × 2

Set 5: 365 lbs × 1

Set 6: 405 lbs × 1

Set 7: 435 lbs × 1

Set 8: 455 lbs × 1 (Video Below)

Notes: IQ: 227.10

Safety Squat

Set 1: 65 lbs × 5

Set 2: 115 lbs × 5

Set 3: 155 lbs × 5

Set 4: 205 lbs × 3

Set 5: 225 lbs × 3

Set 6: 225 lbs × 3

Set 7: 245 lbs × 2

Set 8: 205 lbs × 5

Notes: IQ: 166.29

Back Extension

Set 1: 130 lbs × 10

Set 2: 130 lbs × 10

Set 3: 130 lbs × 10

Notes: IQ: 130

Friday, December 19, 2014, 7:29 AM

Bodyweight: 201.8 lb

Volume: 17,260 lb

Average Weight Per Rep: 138.08 lb

Close Grip Bench Press (Pinkies On Rings)

Set 1: 95 lbs × 8

Set 2: 135 lbs × 6

Set 3: 185 lbs × 4

Set 4: 185 lbs × 4

Set 5: 185 lbs × 4

Set 6: 185 lbs × 4

Set 7: 185 lbs × 4

Notes: IQ: 155

Bench Press

Set 1: 225 lbs × 2

Set 2: 225 lbs × 2

Notes: IQ: 225

Bench Press (Dumbbell)

Set 1: 170 lbs × 8

Set 2: 190 lbs × 4

Set 3: 200 lbs × 6

Set 4: 170 lbs × 8

Notes: IQ: 180

Seated Row

Set 1: 100 lbs × 8

Set 2: 150 lbs × 8

Set 3: 150 lbs × 8

Set 4: 150 lbs × 8

Notes: IQ: 137.50

Tricep Pushdown

Set 1: 40 lbs × 8

Set 2: 50 lbs × 5

Notes: IQ: 43.84

Hammer Curl

Set 1: 90 lbs × 8

Set 2: 90 lbs × 8

Notes: IQ: 90

A big believer in practicing what he preaches, Charles Staley trains and competes just like his clients. Every Friday you can read what Charles has done in his workout sessions.